


Yellow

by xxIzabela



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gen, I'm a sucker for a family story, Lily learns that Maleficent cares, They talk, and she cares too, they bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 18:38:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7117915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxIzabela/pseuds/xxIzabela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on this tumblr quote:</p>
<p>"she guessed my favorite color first try..</p>
<p>but between me and u……. i didnt even have a favorite color until she yelled out yellow!! she was hella excited n smiling like a little kid. so i told her she was right and i havent seen yellow the same since, its in everything. i could probably live in it now. "</p>
            </blockquote>





	Yellow

**Author's Note:**

> The original link to the quote is here: "http://whoarei.tumblr.com/post/118431737232/she-guessed-my-favorite-color-first-try-but"
> 
> I was told that I need to write more in english if I truly want to learn and get good at it, so this is an attempt!

Lily was an observer.

She noticed everything and everyone. When one had a life as hard as she did, the need to notice little things about people (their mood, their intentions, how they behaved when they wanted something, the little changes on their faces and bodies when they lied) made a big difference.

So, she was an observer and it was not her fault people in Storybrooke were so easy to read. One afternoon sitting at Granny's was enough to tell her pretty much everything about those people. For instance, Ruby had a big _big_ crush on the chinese deputy and it was very funny, because the waitress could flirt all the time with everyone, but when the deputy arrived, suddenly, Ruby was a shy girl with an unsure smile like an awkward teenager. It was adorable.

Granny noticed it too. She and Lily would smile at each other when Ruby was making a fool of herself, but Granny would quickly change her smile into a frown and tell Ruby to move, "there are other customers, you know".

Mulan also had a big crush on Ruby and it was even more obvious. All one had to do was to look at Mulan's face while she was looking at Ruby. It was so so _so_ fucking obvious. Lily would roll her eyes every time they were together at the dinner.

_(So lame_ ).

The Charmings were disgusting. They would sit together near the window, then they would make eyes, whisper sweet nothings at each other and laugh. They were like those mushy teenagers Lily saw on sappy movies at night. The baby Neal - the only one she could stand - would usually nap or chew a toy or even better, he would throw up and Lily loved those moments the most. Nobody needed to be a good observer to know these things about the Charmings, but when Emma was near... That's when things got interesting. First, Snow would push Neal closer to Charming, who would then get closer to Henry; Emma would be between her parents, not really close to her brother. The clueless teenager would be the one closest to little Neal, while Emma was the farthest. Also, Emma didn't quite looked at him nor mentioned his name ( it was always 'the little one', 'my baby brother' or 'the baby'), curiously she wouldn't babysit him either (Lily knows because she saw Emma dropping Neal at Regina's a couple of times). They didn't seem the picture of happy family to her and it was weird because Emma knew her parents longer than Lily knew her mother and yet she was more uncomfortable around them than Lily herself was around Maleficent.

(It seemed fair to her though. She still wanted the Charmings to suffer and it was happening right in front of her eyes).

The Dark One and Belle were also an interesting duo. They would sit calmly and silently, reading books and sipping tea. Belle's growing stomach called more and more attention. For someone as powerful as the Dark One, Lily thought that he was supposed to be more... confident... yet he was everything but. It seemed that Belle was made of glass. He would do everything for her: help her to get up and sit down, help her with books, help with the door and even try to help when she was trying to eat. Belle was trying to be patient and Rumple was trying not to freak out, Lily could see them trying... But somehow it was only a matter of time before one of them break. They needed to talk and she couldn't understand how it was so obvious to _her_ and not to them.

Idiots.

"What are you doing?"

Lily sipped the hot coffee and appreciated the bitter taste on her tongue before swallowing.

"Observing"

Maleficent smiled when she sat in front of Lily. She put the shopping bag next to her, but Lily didn't pay it much attention.

"Anything interesting enough to be shared?"

"Only that this town is made of idiots"

That earned her a smile.

"So I have been told"

Maleficent was harder to read. She just seemed... Happy. Sometimes sad and sometimes hurt, but most of the times when Lily looked at her, shesmiled and was _happy_.

"Can I ask you something?"

Mal folded her hands and nodded.

"Anything."

"Is there anything between you and the mayor?"

Lily expected shock, maybe embarrassment, a head tilt, a small blush, but all Mal did was smile.

"We're friends"

Duh.

"I know, but there is anything more than friends?"

"Ah, that."

The blonde was actually thinking and Lily drank again from her cup.

"There was once. A long time ago. Yes."

"You guys were together then".

"Before you were even born, my darling, but yes."

Lily licked her lips.

"But what about now? You're just friends here?"

A head tilt.

"Do you think there is more?"

"There isn't?"

"Why would you think that?"

"You aren't answering my question"

Mal sighed.

"There isn't. We're just friends... As we have been once upon a time. We're too busy trying to rebuild that before trying anything... more complicated."

"But you love her, right?"

"What's with you and questions today?"

"Just observing."

"What does you observation told you about us?"

There was no more coffee and Lily called Ruby. Mal politely declined when Ruby approached her.

Lily sipped from the fresh cup and then continued.

"My observation tells me that you love her. A lot. But you don't try to get her... You're just here... Loving her silently or something."

"Like I do with you?"

Oh.

Mal smiled fondly at Lily, but she remained in silence. Lily sipped more from her coffee while thinking in what to say.

Henry smiled at her from the other side of the dinner and Lily forced a smile at him.

"You know..." Mal said and Lily looked at her "A long time ago, a few months after I met Regina... She guessed my favorite color in her first try"

The blonde laughed. Her blue eyes were filled with warmth and Lily caught herself smiling despite not knowing what was so big about it.

"But, can I be very sincere? Between you and me?"

Lily nodded still now knowing where Mal was heading with it.

"I didn't even have a favorite color before she screamed 'purple' with those bright brown eyes. She was so excited and smiling like a child. I couldn't say she was wrong, so I told her she was right. After that I never looked at purple the same way... It was in everything I did. I wanted to live surrounded by purple. My clothes, my accessories, my castle... I would have made the world purple then."

Lily didn't answer; she just looked at her mother, who still had an adoring smile on her face and a peaceful expression.

"That's when I figured out I loved her... Because of purple" she let a small laugh.

Lily caught Henry and Emma leaving behind her mother. Neal was back between David and Snow.

"Why did you tell me this?"

"Regina showed me a dress yesterday. It was purple. She turned to me and said 'It's gorgeous and in your favorite color!'. Back in the forest, when she was gone, when the darkness got too much…  I wanted to banish purple from my life but I never could. Not entirely, anyway. I hated myself for it"

Lily didn't know what to say, but Mal wasn't expecting her to say anything.

"Oh, before I forget..." she said and took a box from the shopping bag "It's getting cold and I noticed that your neck is always red. So I bought it for you"

Lily wanted to deny, to say 'no, thanks, I don’t feel cold at all', but there was a lump inside her throat and she felt like she was going to suffocate under the warmth of her mother's eyes. Was that how Regina felt when Mal stared at her? Like she couldn't breathe, like there was nothing and then there was everything and it was just too much? Was that how drowning feels like?

She took the box and whispered a broken ‘thank you’. She opened it with care and Mal pretended she didn't see how Lily's hand shook.

"It was just a small thing I saw while shopping with Regina yesterday. It isn’t big deal."

But it was a big deal. It was a fucking big deal to Lily.

It was a scarf. A dark yellow scarf.

"I didn't know what color you preferred" said Mal really unsure "you can change it if you want, there are many other colors you can choose. We can go together, if you wish."

"No" Lily said touching the scarf. It was warm. It would drown her in warmth, wouldn’t it? "I like yellow. It's my favorite."

The smile Mal gave her almost made her feel guilty for lying. She didn't like yellow, but... now... Maybe she would. 

Yellow was warm after all.

Warm and kind.


End file.
